Dishwasher with cover latching mechanism



July 28; 1959 M. R. KAUFFMAN ETAL 2,

DISHWASHER WITH COVER LATCHING MECHANISM Filer; July 24, 1957 2Sheets-Sheet l FlG.l

INVENTORS MELVIN 1!.KAUFF'MAN Bron-n4 A- manna rs.

THEIR ATTORNY Jul 28, 1959 M. R. KAUFFMAN ET AL DISHWASHER WITH COVERLATCHING MECHANISM Filed m 24, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 a u/m fi 33 oINVENTORS 34 MELVIN a. KAUFFMAN 5 J'Ol-IN A. DICKEN J'R.

Tuzm. ATTOR NtY Patented July 2%, 1959 hine i 59 H DISHWASHER WITH COVERLATCHIIN G Melvin R. Kaufrman and John A. Dicken, Jr-i Louisville,

Ky., assignors to General Electric Company, a corporation of ewYorh Thisinvention relates to dishwashing apparatus and more particularly tocover locking and control mechanisms for such apparatus, I I p Aprincipal object of the present inventionis to provide adishwasherhaving improved cover latching and control mechanism arrangedto complete the power circuit of the dishwasher when the cover is closedand to automatically unlatch the cover at the end of each dishwashingcycle. o o i Another object-of this invention is to provide improvedcover latching and control mechanism. for ahishwasher having automaticmeans for unlatching the cover of athe dishwasher at the end of eachd-ishwashing cycle and manually operable. means for temporarilyinterrupting the washing cycle and. unlatching the cover.

Further. objects and advantagesof theinvention will become apparent asthe following desorip tio n proceeds, and the features of novelty whichcharacterize the invention Will be pointed out with particularity in theclaims annexed to and forming a part of this specification. a i

Briefly stated, in accordance withone aspect of our invention, weprovide a dishwasher having a cover latoh which. is held locked positionduring washingoperations by latching mechanism including an interlockswitch in the power circuit, a latch member biased to unlocked positionby spring meansand arranged to be pivoted to locked .positionas thecover; is closed, and retained in locked position bytrigger meansarranged to control actuation of. the interlock switch and to re tainthe latch member inlocked position and a sequence timer control arrangedso as to open the switch and release the latoh member at the end of eachdishwashing cycle. V

For a better understanding of this invention reference may be made tothe following description and the accompanying drawing in which. 7 M

Fig. l is a front elevation view of a dishwasher includingour invention,some of the parts being broken away to show details of construction. I o

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary front elevation view ofthe cover latching andcontrol mechanism incorporated in the dishwasher shownin Fig. l. I r 1Fig. 3 is similar to Fig. 2 but shows the parts in a difierentposition.n j h 1 Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view taken along the line4-4inFig.3. h n U Fig. 5 is a fragmentary rear elevation view of themechanism shown in Figs. 2 and 3. p

Fig. 6 is similar to Fig. 5, but shows the parts in a difierentposition. q-

Referring to Fig; 1 ofthe drawing, there is shown a dishwasher generallydesignated by the vnumeral lhhaving an enclosed washing compartment,formed. by tub wall 2, of generally rectangular configuration havingatop access opening closed by. a hinged cover 3. Sup ported within tub 2are an upper rack 4 and a lower 2 rack S arranged to support dishes andthe like during Washing operations .Dishwasher 1 is provided with awaterinlet, valve 6 adapted to be'connected to a water supply system; awaierinlet conduit 7 and a fill funnel 8 communicating with the interiorof tub; 2. Located at the bottom of the tub and arranged to circulatewashing fluid'throughout the washing compartment is a rotary impeller 9.A drain pump '10 having an inlet communicating with tub 2 and an outletconnected to drain conduit 11 is supportedbeneaththe tub, the housingofpump 10 being arranged to support an electric motor 12 which drives theimpeller 9 so as to circulate fluid in the tub when rotating inone'direction, and to operate pump 10 so as to discharge fluid throughconduit 11 when driven inthe other direction. Automatic operation ofdishwasher 1 is effected by a timer control assembly U generallydesignated by the numeral 13 arranged to control the energization ofinlet valve 6, motor 12, and the opening of cover 3 at the end of eachdishwashing operation. I

Typically, a dishwasher of the type illustrated in Fig. 1

is arranged to proyide a plurality of washing steps, in

each of which a measured quantity of water is admitted to tub 2,circulated for a predetermined period of time and then discharged fromthe tub in preparation for the nextwashing step. At the end of thecomplete washing operation the dishes in the washing compartment u ng try n y are dried, preferably by circulation of heated air, a heatingunit such asl sheathed heating element 14 being useful for this,purpose, It is also very desirable that the cover of the washingcompartment be partially open and in accordance with the presentinvention we have provided a cover locking and control mechanism.particularly suited to perform this as well as other functions,

In the presently preferred embodiment of our invention wehave provided abase plate 15 having integral mounting brackets l6 and 17 arranged to besupported on .tub Z screws 18 and 19, for example. Supported on baseplate 15 for pivotal movement about a pin 25) is a latch member 21mounted adjacent compartment 2 a for pivotal movement from lockedposition to an unlocked position as shown in Figs. 2 and 3,respectively.

Latch member 21 comp-rises a pair of spaced sheet metal plates 21a and21b fixedly secured in spaced relation by pins 22, 23, and 24. Pin 24 ispreferably provided with a rotatable sleeve 25 located between plates21a and 21b and arranged to cooperate with a catch member '26 fixedlysecured to cover 3.

Catch 26 includes an inclined camming portion 27 shaped so as to providea counterclockwise (as viewed in Figs. 2 and 3) force componentto latchmember 21 as catch 26 engagesroller 25 when cover 3 is manually closed.

Latch member 21 is biased to the position shown in Fig. 3 (the unlockedposition) by suitable spring means such as a coil spring 28 secured atone end to pin 22 of the latchmember at the other to a portion of baseplate 15. In order to align sleeve 25 of the latch member with camsurface 27 of catch 2d, a stop member 29 integral with a bent out of theplane of base member 15 is provided to limit movement of latch member 21under the influence of.spring 28. From the description thus far, it willbe seen that latch member 21 is held in theposillOi'l shown in Fig. 5when cover 3 is open, and isrotated to the position shown in Fig; 6 whenthe cover is manually closed, the cover being held in this position byengagement of a finger portion 349 on the catch andsl'eeve 25 on pin 24of the latch member. The latchrnember 21 in turn'is releasably retainedin theposition shown in Fig. 6 by atrigger member 31 pivotally mountedon base plate Ed by means of pin 32' and provided with a stop 3 element33 located adjacent the lower portion of the latch member and engageabletherewith to hold the latch member against the bias of spring 28. Inorder to provide means for adjusting the latching mechanism, stopelement 33is preferably secured to a flange portion of trigger 31 bymeans of a screw 34 which extends through a slightly elongated openingin the flange member. Trigger 31 is biased in the clockwise direction(as viewed in Figs. 2 and 3) by means'of a leaf spring 35 secured at itsfixed end to base plate 15 and arranged with its free end bearingagainst screw 34. Thus when the latch mechanism is in its unlockedposition, stop element 33 is biased against the curved lower portion oflatch member 21 and is biased so as to releasably retain the latchmember in its locked position when cover 3 is moved to its closedposition, as best shown in Fig. 6. Trigger member 31 also includes aflanged portion 36 which is arranged to engage push button 37 ofinterlock switch 38 so as to close the contacts of the switch when thetrigger is in the position shown in Figs. 2 and 6. Switch 38 ispreferably connected in the main power circuit of the dishwasher, and issecured to base plate 15 by suitable means such as screws 39. Thus itwill be understood that when the cover 3 is in the open position asshown in Fig. 3 the power circuit of the dishwasher is interruptedinasmuch as trigger 31 is out of engagement with plunger 37 of theswitch, and that when the cover is closed the switch contacts are closedso as to close the electrical circuit energizing the water inlet valve6, the timer 13, the sheathed heater l4, and the motor 12. v

In order to provide means for opening the contacts of interlock switch38 and also unlock the latching member 21 from catch 26 so as to permitcover 3 to open, a mechanical linkage is provided between the timercontrol assembly 13 and trigger 31. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, anactuating lever 40 is pivotally mounted on base plate 15 by means of apin 41. Lever 40 includes a camming surface 42 engageable with aprojecting car 43 on trigger arm 31, the other end of the actuating arm40 having a cam follower 14 which rides in a groove 45 formed by a pairof parallel walls 45a and 4511 on the rear surface of rotary controlmember 46. Control dial 46 is rotated at constant speed by timer control13, and partially projects through an opening in inclined housing wall46a so as to provide visual indication of the operating sequence, itbeing understood that suitable indicia may be provided on the peripheralsurface of the dial for this purpose.

Thus it will be seen that as dial 46 rotates clockwise from the positionshown in Fig. 2 to the position shown in Fig. 3 during each washingoperation, cam follower 44 is lowered thus causing actuating lever 40 topivot clockwise, and finally actuating trigger 31 in a counterclockwisedirection so as to disengage stop element 33 from latch member 21.Spring 28 then rotates latch member 21 to the position shown in Figs. 3and 5, and hence cover 3 is opened by upward force on catch 26 appliedby latch member 21 to facilitate drying of the dishes in compartment 2.

In order to permit cover 3 of the dishwasher to be opened at any timeduring a washing cycle without disturbing the sequence of the washingsteps, there is provided a manually operable arm 47 having a lowerflanged portion 48 and a manually operable handle 49 so arranged andsupported on base pate 15 that trigger 31 may be shifted to its unlockedposition by upward movement on handle 49. Manually operable arm 47 is ofcourse supported for vertical reciprocating movement and is independentof actuating lever 40, so that when the parts are in the closed positionshown in Fig. 2 and handle 49 is lifted vertically the latch mechanismis unlocked without disturbing the setting of control dial 49. When thecover 3 is manually reclosed, the parts return to the position shown inFig. 2, the interlock switch 38 is reclosed, and the washing cyclecontinues as if there had been no interruption. At the end of the dryingcycle lever 46 is returned to its initial position in which cammingsurface 42 is disengaged from flange 43 on trigger 31, and hence theparts are prepared for another washing operation.

While we have shown and described a specific embodiment of ourinvention, we do not desire the invention to be limited to theparticular construction disclosed and we intend by the appended claimsto cover all modifications within the true spirit and scope of ourinvention.

What is claimed is:

1. A dishwasher comprising timer control means, a washing compartment,electrically energized means for circulating water therein, a cover forsaid compartment, a catch on said cover, an interlock switch forinterrupting the circuit supplying energy to said water circulatingmeans, a latch member mounted adjacent said compartment for pivotalmovement from an unlocked position to a locked position in engagementwith said catch, means for biasing said latch member to said unlockedposition, cam means operatively connected with said catch for engagingand moving said latch member to its locked position as the cover isclosed, trigger means for releasably retaining said latch member in saidlocked position, said trigger means including means for actuating saidswitch to closed circuit position only when said latch member is in saidlocked position, and means operated by said timer control means foractuating said trigger means so as to open said switch and release saidlatch member for movement to said unlocked position.

2. A dishwasher comprising timer control means, a washing compartment,electrically energized means for circulating water therein, a cover forsaid'compartment, a catch on said cover, an interlock switch forinterrupting the circuit supplying energy to said water circulatingmeans, a latch member mounted adjacent said compartment for pivotalmovement from an unlocked position to a locked position in engagementwith said catch, said latch member including a portion above the pivotaxis thereof having a catch engaging element laterally ofiset withrespect to said pivot axis and a portion below said pivot axis, meansfor biasing said latch member to said unlocked position, cam meansoperatively connected with said catch for engaging and moving said latchmember to its locked position as the cover is closed, a trigger armpivotally mounted adjacent said lower portion of said latch member, saidtrigger arm including a switch actuator engagable with said interlockswitch and a stop ele ment engagable with said lower portion of saidlatch member for releasably retaining said latch member in said lockedposition, and means operated by said timer control means for actuatingsaid trigger arm so as to open said switch and release said latch memberfor movement to said unlocked position.

3. A dishwasher as defined in claim 2 including a manually operable armengagable with said trigger arm and movable independently of said timercontrol means for opening said switch and releasing said latch memberfor movement to said unlocked position.

4. A dishwasher comprising timer control means, a washing compartment,electrically energized means for circulating water therein, a cover forsaid compartment, a catch on said cover, an interlock switch forinterrupting the circuit supplying energy to said water circulatingmeans, a latch member mounted adjacent said compartment for pivotalmovement from an unlocked position to a locked position in engagementwith said catch, said latch member including a portion above the pivotaxis thereof having a catch engaging element laterally oifset withrespect to said pivot axis and a portion below said pivot axis, meansfor biasing said latch member to said unlocked position, cam meansoperatively connected with said catch for engaging and moving said latchmember to its locked position as the cover is closed, a trigger armpivotally mounted adjacent said lower portion of said latch member, saidtrigger arm including a switch actuator engagable with said interlockswitch and a stop element engagable with said lower portion of saidlatch member for releasably retaining said latch member in said lockedposition, an actuating lever pivotally mounted adjacent said trigger armand engagable with said trigger arm so as to open said switch andrelease said latch member for movement to said unlocked position, saidactuating lever being provided with a cam follower at one end thereof, arotary control member having a cam surface engagable with said camfollower and arranged to shift said actuating lever progressively intoengagement with 6 said trigger arm, and a manually operable armengagable with said trigger arm and movable independently'of said timercontrol means for opening said switch and releasing said latch memberfor movement to said unlocked position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,618,282 Stanitz et a1. Nov. 18, 1952 2,692,602 Stanitz et al. Oct. 26,1954 2,713,345 Stanitz ct a1. July 19, 1955 2,759,485 Guth Aug. 21, 1956

